A Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID) is a formative assessment of students’
learning, a kind of mid-stream evaluation or checkup that usually takes place in the
4th, 5th, or 6th week of the semester. It can, however, be done at any time. SGIDs
are most commonly conducted by someone other than the instructor – usually a person
from the teaching and learning center – in order to give students greater freedom
to express their views. However, a faculty member could ask his or her students the
SGID questions him or herself.

An SGID is a great way to evaluate if the students are learning and if there might
be better ways to help them learn during the remainder of the semester. Doing an SGID
early in the semester gives more time for meaningful improvements in the course and
in students' learning – improvements that are based on the students' feedback during
the SGID – to occur. In addition to the quality feedback faculty receive, students
often are pleased that their instructor is willing to listen to their views and is
seeking to make meaningful changes to improve the course and their learning.

There are four steps in the SGID procedure: two steps involve the SGID facilitator
and the students, one involves the SGID facilitator and, possibly the faculty member,
and final step involves the faculty member and the students in the class.